People hold candles as they gather for a vigil in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: 11 victims identified

Photo Credit: Matt Rourke/AP

People hold candles as they gather for a vigil in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The victims died when alleged gunman Robert Bowers, 46, opened fire inside the synagogue. Bowers is accused of injuring six other people, including four police officers. Authorities said the suspect, who was armed with a rifle and three handguns, surrendered after a firefight with police. He was shot multiple times but survived.

“All funds raised will directly go to the Tree of Life Congregation from GoFundMe, and there is no third party intermediary,” Shay Khatiri, who started the fundraiser, said. More than $300,000 has been raised toward the $1 million goal.

Daniel Stein, 71, of Squirrel Hill, was a kind man, according to his nephew, who spoke to WPXI's Rick Earle on Saturday.

Stein, who was retired and lived with his wife, went to Saturday's service at Tree of Life Synagogue alone.

“He was a great guy. He went down to Florida with me last month to pack up some stuff. He was a fun guy. He had a dry sense of humor and everybody loved him. There wasn't one person that didn't like him in the community,” Steven Halle, Stein’s nephew, said.

Jerry Rabinowitz

Longtime patient of Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, who was killed in the synagogue shooting, tells me “Dr. R” treated everyone like they were his only patient. pic.twitter.com/4SQd3xtOjM

Rabinowitz, 66, served as the personal physician for former Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Law Claus for 30 years. Claus issued a statement late Sunday morning.

“Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz was more than just a physician for me and my family,” Claus said in a statement late Sunday morning. “For over three decades he was truly a trusted confidant and healer who could always be counted upon to provide sage advice whenever he was consulted on medical matters, usually providing that advice with a touch of genuine humor. He had a truly uplifting demeanor, and as a practicing physician he was among the very best.”

He was also the personal doctor of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter Ben Schmitt and his father.

“The ACHIEVA family is devastated at the loss of two well-respected members of our community. Two extraordinary men, brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, 59 and 54 respectively,were victims of the tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

“Cecil and David had a love for life and for those around them. As long-standing recipients of ACHIEVA’s residential and employment services, they were as much a part of the ACHIEVA family as they were their beloved neighborhood of Squirrel Hill.

“They loved life. They loved their community. They spent a lot of time at the Tree of Life, never missing a Saturday.”

“If they were here they would tell you that is where they were supposed to be,” ACHIEVA’s Chris Schopf said.

“Cecil’s laugh was infectious. David was so kind and had such a gentle spirit. Together, they looked out for one another. They were inseparable. Most of all, they were kind, good people with a strong faith and respect for everyone around,” Schopf said.

This undated photo provided by Barry Werber shows Melvin Wax. Wax was killed when a gunman opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018.

Wax, 88, a retired accountant, was a member of the New Light Congregation, which rented space in the lower level of the Tree of Life synagogue, The Associated Press reported.

“He was such a kind, kind person,” Myron Snider, chairman of the congregation's cemetery committee, told the AP.

Wax was a kind man and a pillar of the congregation, filling just about every role except cantor, Snider said.

He was also a lifelong Pirates fan, The New York Times reported, despite the team’s World Series drought . They haven’t won a the series since 1979 and have been mediocre at best for most of the past 25 years.

Fienberg, 75, was a retired researcher, according to The Associated Press. She worked at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center. She prayed at the Tree of Life synagogue every day after her husband’s death, according to The New York Times.

Gottfried, 65, was a dentist and business partner with his wife, Dr. Peg Durachko. Both are University of Pittsburgh alumni. Along with his Catholic wife, Gottfried volunteered for Catholic Charities Free Dental Clinic and helped prepare couples for marriage at St. Athanasius Church. According to the clinic's website he enjoyed playing golf, reading and had completed the City of Pittsburgh Great Race 28 times.

News

A veterinarian euthanized a 7-to 8-month-old Labrador retriever-American pitbull mix puppy at an overcrowded animal shelter in Davenport, Iowa, but when the vet returned to the room, the puppy was still alive and well. >> Read more trending news “And thank goodness, the vet said he wouldn’t do it again,” according to a social media post from Kings Harvest Pet Rescue No Kill Shelter, which took in the puppy, named Rudolph. “We brought him to our shelter in hopes somebody would come adopt him and give him a second chance at life,” the shelter official said. And that is what is happening now, according to news reports. The shelter has found a potential adopter for Rudolph and is verifying information on the puppy’s future family. “He’s a miracle dog, absolutely,” Kylie Jo Mitchell, who works at the pet rescue, told WQAD. “I’ve never heard of anything like this, ever,” Mitchell said. “This is a first.” >> Trending: Emotional support alligator visits senior home, is just like a dog, owner says There’s been a lot of interest in Rudolph’s fate. The shelter’s post has been shared more than 2,000 times and hundreds of people have commented on it, writing about their interest in adopting him.

With no end in sight to the partial government shutdown, and the possibility that 800,000 federal workers will miss another paycheck at the end of this week, the Trump Administration reported Monday that ‘unscheduled absences’ by TSA airport screeners hit 10 percent on Sunday, with that number jumping over the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, as security screeners continue to work without pay because of a battle between the President and Democrats in Congress over funding for a border wall. “TSA experienced a national rate of 10 percent of unscheduled absences compared to a 3.1 percent rate one year ago on the same weekday,” the Transportation Security Administration reported, again using the same language in a daily news release that “many employees are reporting that they are not able to report to work due to financial limitations.” The number of absent screeners had held around 6 percent much of last week, but the TSA reported the number of screeners not showing up for work as planned hit 7 percent on Friday, 8 percent on Saturday, and then 10 percent on Sunday. . @TSA says that 10 percent of its workforce had an 'unscheduled absence' Sunday, compared to just 3.1 percent on the same day last year; that means more than 3,000 TSA agents called off #GovernmentShutdown — Gabe Gutierrez (@gabegutierrez) January 21, 2019 The TSA said in a news release that ‘99.9 percent of passengers waited less than 30 minutes’ to go through airport screening on Sunday. But on Saturday, excessive sick calls by TSA airport screeners forced officials at Baltimore-Washington International Airport to use emergency plans to deal with the lack of airport screeners, closing a major security checkpoint early at the airport. That major checkpoint for Southwest Airlines flights wasn’t closed for just a few hours – but remained shut down on Sunday and Monday as well, because of a lack of security screeners. “It is important to clarify that it is not unusual for TSA and BWI Marshall to open or close one of our security checkpoints,” the airport said in a written statement. “This will have minimal, if any, impact on passengers and no impact on airport operations,” the BWI statement read. . @TSA in collaboration with airport authorities &amp; servicing airlines will be exercising a contingency plan at @BWI_Airport due to excessive callouts. Checkpoint A will be closing at 5:35pm. Passengers should arrive early for evening flights. Contact airport &amp; airlines for updates — TSA (@TSA) January 19, 2019 Earlier this month, press reports of airport screeners calling in sick because of the government shutdown – and the lack of pay for screeners – was denounced as ‘fake news’ by a top Department of Homeland Security spokesman, as well as the White House. Like other federal workers, TSA screeners have been coming to work since the partial government shutdown started on December 22; they were paid as scheduled on December 29, but missed a check on January 11, and a second check may not be paid on January 25.

A group of five black men shouting vulgar insults while protesting centuries of oppression. Dozens of white Catholic high school students visiting Washington for a rally to end abortion. And Native Americans marching to end injustice for indigenous peoples across the globe who have seen their lands overrun by outside settlers. The three groups met for just a few minutes Friday at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, an encounter captured in videos that went viral over the weekend — and again cast a spotlight on a polarized nation that doesn't appear to agree on anything. At first the focus was on a short video showing one of the high school students, Nick Sandmann, wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' hat and appearing to smirk while a crowd of other teens laughed derisively behind him as a 64-year-old Native American, Nathan Phillips, played a traditional chant on a drum. Pull back further and a different view emerged, however, in a separate video showing members of a group calling itself the Black Hebrew Israelites taunting everyone on the mall that day, calling the Native Americans who had gathered there for the Indigenous Peoples March 'Uncle Tomahawks' and '$5 Indians' and the high school students 'crackers' and worse. It was an ugly encounter of spewed epithets but one that nevertheless ended with no punches thrown or other violence. Still, the videos were all over social media, again appearing to illustrate a nation of such deep divisions — racial, religious and ideological — that no one was willing to listen to the others' point of view. Add to that the political tensions spilling over from a government shutdown that has gone on for a month and the stage was set for a viral moment. But in this case it didn't tell the whole story, all the parties involved agree. 'I would caution everyone passing judgment based on a few seconds of video to watch the longer video clips that are on the internet, as they show a much different story than is being portrayed by people with agendas,' Sandmann, a junior, said in a statement released late Sunday. Sandmann's statement does seem at odds with some video from the confrontation that showed students from his school, Covington Catholic High in Park Hills, Kentucky, laughing at Phillips' Native American group and mockingly singing along with him, as well as interviews with Phillips who said he heard the students shout 'Build that wall!' and 'Go back to the reservation!' The fullest view of what happened that Friday afternoon came from a nearly two-hour video posted on Facebook by Shar Yaqataz Banyamyan. It showed members of his Black Hebrew Israelite group repeatedly interacting with the crowd as people from the Indigenous Peoples March and the high school students vigorously argued with them for a few minutes. Sandmann said in his statement the students from his all-male high school were waiting for their buses near Banyamyan's group when the latter started to taunt them. One of the students took off his shirt and the teens started to do a haka — a war dance of New Zealand's indigenous Maori culture, made famous by the country's national rugby team. Phillips, an elder of the Omaha tribe, and Marcus Frejo, a member of the Pawnee and Seminole tribes, said they felt the students were mocking the dance and walked over to intervene. Phillips and Sandmann locked eyes, their faces inches apart. Both men said their goal was simply to make sure things didn't get out of hand. But caught on video, the encounter still went viral. The high school students felt they were unfairly portrayed as villains in a situation where they say they were not the provocateurs. 'I am being called every name in the book, including a racist, and I will not stand for this mob-like character assassination,' Sandmann said in his statement. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington apologized for the incident, promising an investigation that could lead to punishment up to expulsion if any wrongdoing by the students was determined. The Indigenous Peoples Movement felt the encounter was a reminder the U.S. was founded on racism and President Donald Trump's presidency is rekindling hatred based on skin color. 'Trump has riled up a reactionary voting block that reminds us that we are a nation founded on patriarchy, genocide and racism. Trump is clearly giving these archaic instincts license, encouraging the kind of aggressive goading that I witnessed,' movement spokesman Chase Iron Eyes said in a statement. Banyamyan posted his own reaction on Facebook, referencing the dozens of high school students in their Make America Great Again gear coming over to his group of five and chanting. In a rambling video, he also praised Phillips and compared Sandmann to the devil. After the sun set and the Covington high school students left, Banyamyan's video showed a few police officers stopping by to check on his group as they were wrapping up their protest. One of the officers said they were worried by the number of people that briefly massed in that one spot. One of the Black Hebrew Israelites said there were no problems. 'We weren't threatened by them,' he said. 'It was an OK dialogue.

A 14-foot aluminum boat flipped over on the Chattahoochee River on Monday afternoon, authorities confirmed. A man and woman were fishing while inside the boat along with their dog, and all three ended up in the chilly water, Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derrick Booth told Channel 2 Action News. The boat flipped over near the Lula Road bridge. The man was able to make his way back to the bank, but the woman was holding onto a tree limb in the water when first responders arrived, Booth said. She was in the water for about 25 minutes before being rescued. The dog was also in the water and Hall County Fire launched a boat that was able to rescue the dog, he said. All three were about 50 yards away from the shore when their boat capsized, Booth said. The man and woman were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center to be evaluated because of the cold temperature of the water. They are expected to be OK, Channel 2 reported. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident. In other news:

The 2019 Oscar nominations will revealed LIVE Tuesday on 'Good Morning America.' The nominations event will start around 8:20 a.m. The Academy announced last week that Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross will host the event. Who's excited for #OscarNoms? Join @KumailN and @TraceeEllisRoss on Tuesday at 5:20 am PST. https://t.co/cZbmfjsA1S pic.twitter.com/drK62oiFDk — The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 17, 2019 In addition to watching on Channel 2, the event will also be streamed on The Academy's YouTube channel. WATCH 'Good Morning America' immediately following Channel 2 Action News This Morning, starting at 4:30 a.m.

Of all the names that adorn the MARTA station where most Super Bowl fans are likely to get off, not one is likely to assure out-of-towners that they’re in the right place. Officially, it’s the Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center Station, a bewildering alphabet soup that — for all its letters — coveys no sense that this is where you get off for Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Indeed, you can’t find two of the four landmarks the station is named for, because they no longer exist. Philips Arena became State Farm Arena 15 months ago. The Georgia Dome imploded a month later, replaced by Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Only the Georgia World Congress Center and CNN Center remain. That MARTA hasn’t renamed the station more than a year later underscores the difficult local politics of something as simple as the name of a transit station. For months the MARTA Board has been pummeled by some residents of Atlanta’s West End neighborhood, who are upset the agency renamed their station for civil rights icons last year. The new name: The Juanita Jones and Ralph David Abernathy at West End Station. The residents want the name switched back to just West End Station, in honor of their neighborhood. Amid the controversy, the MARTA Board is revisiting its policies for naming stations. The new policy likely will ensure plenty of public input before a station name is changed. But it could be months before the policy is finalized, and longer before the Dome Station (as it’s known, for short) gets a new name. In the meantime, the agency is adding new signs to guide passengers to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in time for the Super Bowl. David Springstead, MARTA’s chief of rail operations, said the agency is spending more than $100,000 on new signs at various locations. Though some are temporary, most will be used long after the Super Bowl. “We don’t want to spend a bunch of money on signs that will never be used again,” Springstead said. The agency also is deploying more than 600 transit “ambassadors” to help football fans find their way to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Super Bowl and related events. For the record, there are two MARTA stations with easy access to the stadium. The other — Vine City Station — is named for an Atlanta neighborhood that still exists.